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| She's looking at the photo album we sent her of our family! |
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| Born to be a Tiger!!! |
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| Her mama and dada sent her this warm jacket and lovie. |
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
New Pictures of our Girl
We are so excited to have these new pictures of Emily! Think I may freak her out if I bite her cheeks the first time we meet?
Thursday, January 16, 2014
Day 66... LOA Wait is Officially Over!!!!!!!
Joy.
Pure joy.
That's what I'm experiencing today. Satisfaction pumping through my veins. Satisfaction that only the love and faithfulness of Christ can accomplish.
66 days after our pre-approval... 66 long days of wondering, waiting, praying, agonizing... after receiving a red flag from the Chinese government and supplying more information to answer further questions... 66 days of relying on The Lord to get us here... our letter of approval (LOA) arrived via FedEx... TODAY.
From here, Seamus and I will sign this very important document and send it back to Lifeline tomorrow, who will turn around and overnight it to U.S. Immigration, along with an application (I800) requesting that Emily be approved for citizenship in the United States. We should receive that approval in about 2-3 weeks. Once Immigration grants approval, they send everything to the National Visa Center who turns around and cables the approval to the Visa Center in China. There are many small steps between now and travel. I'll keep you posted as we hit each milestone. It looks like we will be traveling in early April. Eeeeeek!
Holding this letter in my hands produces a flood of emotion that is almost impossible to explain. This piece of paper is proof that when we fight for the least of these, the ones who God treasures most, the impossible becomes possible. 2 worlds collide. 2 countries have approved us to be the parents of our daughter, Emily Hope Loman. She will soon be ours to hold and to raise, to love, and to promise that she will never, never, never be abandoned again. She will know the same love our children here know. She will never have to feel alone, ever again. She will finally know what it's like to have a mommy and daddy dry her tears and kiss her bo-bo's. This piece of paper brings us one huge step closer to being able to love her the way she deserves and to show her the love of Christ.
Aside from seeing Emily's face for the first time, this has been the best day of our adoption journey. This day outweighs all the hard days put together. This is the joy that God has promised for those who follow Him. Yes, being a follower requires sacrifice and hardship. But the pain that stems from a difficult road is incomparable to the joy that He continues to lavish on us through this process. (Romans 8:18) Had we not ever taken the leap of faith in adopting, there is an incredible amount of joy we'd have missed out on. And we don't even have her in our arms yet! Oh how my arms ache to hold her. Imagine THAT joy!Our God is “able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Ephesians 3:20)
We are thanking Him today for His holy spirit that convicted us to pursue an orphan. We are thankful that this orphan is one step closer to losing that label forever! We are thanking Him for His provision and grace in protecting us through the difficult days. We are thanking Him for providing our LOA! And we are thanking Him for our loved ones as you have prayed for us and supported us mightily. Please continue to pray for our family and for our Mei Mei. We must continue to rely on the strength and daily grace of our Lord.
Joy.
Pure Joy.
Pure joy.
That's what I'm experiencing today. Satisfaction pumping through my veins. Satisfaction that only the love and faithfulness of Christ can accomplish.
66 days after our pre-approval... 66 long days of wondering, waiting, praying, agonizing... after receiving a red flag from the Chinese government and supplying more information to answer further questions... 66 days of relying on The Lord to get us here... our letter of approval (LOA) arrived via FedEx... TODAY.
From here, Seamus and I will sign this very important document and send it back to Lifeline tomorrow, who will turn around and overnight it to U.S. Immigration, along with an application (I800) requesting that Emily be approved for citizenship in the United States. We should receive that approval in about 2-3 weeks. Once Immigration grants approval, they send everything to the National Visa Center who turns around and cables the approval to the Visa Center in China. There are many small steps between now and travel. I'll keep you posted as we hit each milestone. It looks like we will be traveling in early April. Eeeeeek!
Holding this letter in my hands produces a flood of emotion that is almost impossible to explain. This piece of paper is proof that when we fight for the least of these, the ones who God treasures most, the impossible becomes possible. 2 worlds collide. 2 countries have approved us to be the parents of our daughter, Emily Hope Loman. She will soon be ours to hold and to raise, to love, and to promise that she will never, never, never be abandoned again. She will know the same love our children here know. She will never have to feel alone, ever again. She will finally know what it's like to have a mommy and daddy dry her tears and kiss her bo-bo's. This piece of paper brings us one huge step closer to being able to love her the way she deserves and to show her the love of Christ.
Aside from seeing Emily's face for the first time, this has been the best day of our adoption journey. This day outweighs all the hard days put together. This is the joy that God has promised for those who follow Him. Yes, being a follower requires sacrifice and hardship. But the pain that stems from a difficult road is incomparable to the joy that He continues to lavish on us through this process. (Romans 8:18) Had we not ever taken the leap of faith in adopting, there is an incredible amount of joy we'd have missed out on. And we don't even have her in our arms yet! Oh how my arms ache to hold her. Imagine THAT joy!
Joy.
Pure Joy.
Monday, January 13, 2014
Very Exciting News!
We just got word from our social worker that China has officially approved us to adopt Emily!
They have issued our LOA (letter of approval). The "what-ifs" have ended. The spaz out session has begun!
In the adoption world, we call this "soft LOA". China will now print and mail our LOA hard copy to Lifeline. Once Lifeline receives it, they will overnight it to us. Upon receiving our hard copy LOA, our official LOA wait will be over!
I will repost as soon as we receive our hard copy. At that time, I'll also explain what happens next.
This is fantastic news for us and for Emily Hope! We're coming, Mei Mei... hold on a little bit longer!
Woohoo!!!
They have issued our LOA (letter of approval). The "what-ifs" have ended. The spaz out session has begun!
In the adoption world, we call this "soft LOA". China will now print and mail our LOA hard copy to Lifeline. Once Lifeline receives it, they will overnight it to us. Upon receiving our hard copy LOA, our official LOA wait will be over!
I will repost as soon as we receive our hard copy. At that time, I'll also explain what happens next.
This is fantastic news for us and for Emily Hope! We're coming, Mei Mei... hold on a little bit longer!
Woohoo!!!
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Waiting for LOA... Day 54
Today marks day 54 of our LOA wait. It's hard to remember what all this means so here's a brief refresher. 54 days ago we received "pre-approval" from the Chinese government to adopt Emily Hope. We have been waiting, for 54 days, to receive an official letter of approval (LOA). (Insert hiccup here.) Last week we received a call from our Lifeline social worker alerting us that China has requested additional information from us before they can continue reviewing our dossier (our very large file). We have gathered the requested information and forwarded it to them. Now what? We wait. Again. We have been encouraged not to panic. It's not common to be asked for additional information but apparently it's not completely unheard of. We do expect to be approved for the adoption. It's just an added delay. Sigh. As frustrating as this can be, we are hopeful to hear some very exciting news soon!
I have so many adoptive friends through Facebook who are praying for us and supporting us. It's bitter sweet because all of the friends who were in the same stage as us seem to now be passing us up. I wouldn't trade the connections and encouragement for anything in the world. They have truly become like sisters to me! But this week feels a tad bit lonely at times, even with everyone covering us with love. God doesn't let me get too down. As soon as I start feeling discouraged, He reminds me of all His goodness and faithfulness, His promises to provide and never leave my side. Those promises are forever firm, even in the midst of my sinful discouragement and doubt. God is good y'all and He will bring us to Emily at the perfect moment! That moment won't likely be in March, since last week's request for further information. Somehow, we're okay with that. It's hard but I'm so thankful for a God who constantly reminds me of His goodness. By the way, if you're ever wondering what the key to happiness is, that's it. Focus on who Christ is and all his goodness. That's it. I promise. Everything falls in to place when you focus on Him and not "me".
On a lighter note, we have had the privilege of receiving several recent pictures of Emily. A couple of them are extra special. We mailed a small package to her several weeks ago. We were thrilled to learn that the package arrived. Some of these pictures show Emily wearing a monogrammed dress we sent and her "Bringing Home Emily Hope" t-shirt! I've been trying to process this. An orphan living in China, who we have sought out since March... our daughter now... is wearing the t-shirt (halfway around the world) we had made to help bring her home and to show our love for her. And, the orphanage director cares enough to share this picture (and others) with us! Seamus and I have looked at this particular picture about a hundred times since we received it Thursday. Unreal.
I'm hoping to share an exciting update with you very soon (praying I can tell you something new next week). Stay tuned! For now, enjoy the pics!
I have so many adoptive friends through Facebook who are praying for us and supporting us. It's bitter sweet because all of the friends who were in the same stage as us seem to now be passing us up. I wouldn't trade the connections and encouragement for anything in the world. They have truly become like sisters to me! But this week feels a tad bit lonely at times, even with everyone covering us with love. God doesn't let me get too down. As soon as I start feeling discouraged, He reminds me of all His goodness and faithfulness, His promises to provide and never leave my side. Those promises are forever firm, even in the midst of my sinful discouragement and doubt. God is good y'all and He will bring us to Emily at the perfect moment! That moment won't likely be in March, since last week's request for further information. Somehow, we're okay with that. It's hard but I'm so thankful for a God who constantly reminds me of His goodness. By the way, if you're ever wondering what the key to happiness is, that's it. Focus on who Christ is and all his goodness. That's it. I promise. Everything falls in to place when you focus on Him and not "me".
On a lighter note, we have had the privilege of receiving several recent pictures of Emily. A couple of them are extra special. We mailed a small package to her several weeks ago. We were thrilled to learn that the package arrived. Some of these pictures show Emily wearing a monogrammed dress we sent and her "Bringing Home Emily Hope" t-shirt! I've been trying to process this. An orphan living in China, who we have sought out since March... our daughter now... is wearing the t-shirt (halfway around the world) we had made to help bring her home and to show our love for her. And, the orphanage director cares enough to share this picture (and others) with us! Seamus and I have looked at this particular picture about a hundred times since we received it Thursday. Unreal.
I'm hoping to share an exciting update with you very soon (praying I can tell you something new next week). Stay tuned! For now, enjoy the pics!
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Fully Funded!
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." (Phil.4:19)
When we started this journey back in March, one of the obstacles in moving ahead was finances. We are, by no means, struggling to provide for our family but certainly didn't have an extra $32,000 laying around. That chunk of change seemed like good reason to keep pushing the idea of adopting out of my head. But God convicted us on a deeper level. Not only had he softened our hearts for his ministry of adoption but he vividly confirmed that he would provide in all things, even the finances needed to fund this adoption. We seriously had no idea how we were going to pay for it. My pride stood in the way of wanting to fundraise. The only other way was to deplete our savings and borrow the rest. Although debt is very unbiblical and not something we want to touch, I was able to rationalize the idea. The debt was for good reason, right? God forgives us if we're borrowing for a good cause! Um, not really. God spoke to us very clearly in March and helped us to understand that not only was going in to debt wrong but it was unnecessary. We knew, through prayer, that He was going to provide every dollar we needed. And he did! Of course he did.
Through generous donations, rainy day savings, Adoption Doughnut Day, t-shirt sales, Tales & Ales, Orphan Awareness event at Terra Bella, Saints tickets raffle, and lifestyle adjustments, we managed to raise $30,435! Because we received some unexpected Christmas gifts, we are able to apply the remaining $1,565 needed towards our adoption fund. To say we are overwhelmed would be the understatement of the year. All because of God's abundant grace, our adoption is fully funded at $32,000!
God also cleansed me of my pride in not wanting to accept help. God is a God who longs for us to depend on him. He created us to be in relationship, to be encouragers and providers to one another. We are his hands and feet on earth and by being prideful about accepting help, we would be denying our brothers and sisters in Christ (and God himself) the opportunity to be involved in this ministry! Your donations and all that you have shared with us come directly from the ultimate provider himself. He has worked through your hearts and hands to be a part of bringing Emily home. I praise Him for showing me truth in this, rather than allowing me to remain in my sinful pride. Who am I to decide how God should fund this adoption? Humility. It's a hard lesson to learn, yet a beautiful privilege to experience.
Thanks to so many of you who gladly donated and participated in our fundraisers. We hope the blessing is yours as you realize Christ used you for His glory! May I boldly ask for your continued prayers? We can't bring Mei Mei home without $32,000 but we certainly can't bring her home without your prayers either! Deep gratitude.
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11)
When we started this journey back in March, one of the obstacles in moving ahead was finances. We are, by no means, struggling to provide for our family but certainly didn't have an extra $32,000 laying around. That chunk of change seemed like good reason to keep pushing the idea of adopting out of my head. But God convicted us on a deeper level. Not only had he softened our hearts for his ministry of adoption but he vividly confirmed that he would provide in all things, even the finances needed to fund this adoption. We seriously had no idea how we were going to pay for it. My pride stood in the way of wanting to fundraise. The only other way was to deplete our savings and borrow the rest. Although debt is very unbiblical and not something we want to touch, I was able to rationalize the idea. The debt was for good reason, right? God forgives us if we're borrowing for a good cause! Um, not really. God spoke to us very clearly in March and helped us to understand that not only was going in to debt wrong but it was unnecessary. We knew, through prayer, that He was going to provide every dollar we needed. And he did! Of course he did.
Through generous donations, rainy day savings, Adoption Doughnut Day, t-shirt sales, Tales & Ales, Orphan Awareness event at Terra Bella, Saints tickets raffle, and lifestyle adjustments, we managed to raise $30,435! Because we received some unexpected Christmas gifts, we are able to apply the remaining $1,565 needed towards our adoption fund. To say we are overwhelmed would be the understatement of the year. All because of God's abundant grace, our adoption is fully funded at $32,000!
God also cleansed me of my pride in not wanting to accept help. God is a God who longs for us to depend on him. He created us to be in relationship, to be encouragers and providers to one another. We are his hands and feet on earth and by being prideful about accepting help, we would be denying our brothers and sisters in Christ (and God himself) the opportunity to be involved in this ministry! Your donations and all that you have shared with us come directly from the ultimate provider himself. He has worked through your hearts and hands to be a part of bringing Emily home. I praise Him for showing me truth in this, rather than allowing me to remain in my sinful pride. Who am I to decide how God should fund this adoption? Humility. It's a hard lesson to learn, yet a beautiful privilege to experience.
Thanks to so many of you who gladly donated and participated in our fundraisers. We hope the blessing is yours as you realize Christ used you for His glory! May I boldly ask for your continued prayers? We can't bring Mei Mei home without $32,000 but we certainly can't bring her home without your prayers either! Deep gratitude.
"If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:11)
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Saints vs. Buccaneers Tickets Raffle
We have 2 tickets for the December 29th, Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, in the Superdome. It's funny how we acquired these. These tickets were donated for the silent auction portion of our Orphan Awareness and Adoption Fundraiser. A lovely family purchased the tickets and then donated them back to us! Very tempting, as Seamus would love to bring Brady to his first Saints game. However, we've decided to raffle them off to help with our adoption expenses. We're almost fully funded, y'all!
Both Saints tickets are Terrace Level, Section 638, Row 17, Seats 1 and 2. We will begin selling the raffle tickets now and will draw the winning ticket at 7:00pm on Friday, Dec. 20th. We are selling the raffle tickets for $5 each or 5 chances for $20. The winner of our drawing wins both tickets, face valued at $164 (really worth more since our Saints are rocking it this season).
If you would like to purchase a chance to win, you can pay a few different ways. The easiest way is to click on the "donate" button on the right of my blog page and pay through your Paypal account or with a credit card (or you can pull up your own account on Paypal and send a donation to lauraloman@yahoo.com). If you are on a mobile device, you must click "view web version" at the bottom of this page, in order to see the "donate" button on the right. If you pay this route, please leave a note with your name and phone number. If you'd rather pay with a check or cash, feel free to drop that in our mailbox anytime before next Friday evening. Or, send me an email at lauraloman@yahoo.com with your name and phone number and I'll email you back with my address where you can mail the payment.
Once raffle tickets are purchased, we will not send you a ticket stub. We will write each raffle entry on a card and will draw from these cards on Friday. We will video the drawing and post on our Facebook page Friday night.
Only 8 days until the drawing... Purchase your chance to win and please help us spread the word! These tickets would make a great Christmas gift! Good luck and GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Both Saints tickets are Terrace Level, Section 638, Row 17, Seats 1 and 2. We will begin selling the raffle tickets now and will draw the winning ticket at 7:00pm on Friday, Dec. 20th. We are selling the raffle tickets for $5 each or 5 chances for $20. The winner of our drawing wins both tickets, face valued at $164 (really worth more since our Saints are rocking it this season).
If you would like to purchase a chance to win, you can pay a few different ways. The easiest way is to click on the "donate" button on the right of my blog page and pay through your Paypal account or with a credit card (or you can pull up your own account on Paypal and send a donation to lauraloman@yahoo.com). If you are on a mobile device, you must click "view web version" at the bottom of this page, in order to see the "donate" button on the right. If you pay this route, please leave a note with your name and phone number. If you'd rather pay with a check or cash, feel free to drop that in our mailbox anytime before next Friday evening. Or, send me an email at lauraloman@yahoo.com with your name and phone number and I'll email you back with my address where you can mail the payment.
Once raffle tickets are purchased, we will not send you a ticket stub. We will write each raffle entry on a card and will draw from these cards on Friday. We will video the drawing and post on our Facebook page Friday night.
Only 8 days until the drawing... Purchase your chance to win and please help us spread the word! These tickets would make a great Christmas gift! Good luck and GEAUX SAINTS!!!
Friday, December 6, 2013
Random News and Scattered Thoughts
Prepared for a bunch of random thoughts and news? Good, because that's pretty much how my brain is working lately. Random and scattered.
We are currently on day 25 of our LOA wait. I'll briefly recap what this means. 25 days ago we received a PA (pre-approval) from China to adopt Emily. We are now waiting for our LOA (letter of approval) which makes the adoption very official. The LOA wait typically takes anywhere from 2-6 months. We did receive some fabulous news on Wednesday that our dossier (our 1 million page packet telling them who we are) is OOT (out of translation). This is really good news because it's the step within the LOA wait that takes the longest. Once your dossier is OOT, you can expect LOA in about another month. Let me reiterate what I've said in the past... the Lomans will be doing a spastic happy dance when LOA arrives. I'll brief you on future steps as we get there. For now, please pray that our LOA comes quickly. If it does, it's possible we could travel in March, rather than our anticipated April or May timeline! While we wait... more paperwork.
I've begun nesting, as I did with all my pregnancies. Emily's room is coming together and I've even created a baby registry at Target! A precious girlfriend has offered to have a baby shower for me with close friends, in February. It's feeling so real! Also, I've met a missionary who will be traveling back to China in January and she has offered to bring a package back to be delivered for Emily! What a blessing! I plan to include an LSU outfit (can you imagine the cuteness?), a monogrammed dress, medicine, a recordable book, a photo album, and maybe a soft lovie. I may pack myself in the box so I can get my hands on our baby girl!
We did hear some really sad news yesterday. There is a little girl at Harmony House (with Emily), who has been matched with a family and they are fighting their way through the system to get to their daughter, just like we are. The little girl's originating orphanage has requested that Harmony House send her back and they have haulted the adoption indefinitely. How can this happen? Remember, this is a communist country where the state controls everything... EVERYTHING (we can't even send Emily's caretakers money without it going through the government). We don't know why this happens but apparently it's not uncommon. My guess would be that it involves money, as most things do. While you're praying for a quick LOA, can you also pray for this family, the baby girl, and that this scenario does not play out in our adoption? The thought alone makes me sick to my stomach. I just can't imagine the pain this family is experiencing.
Things are progressing nicely. It's exciting to see movement in the process. With Christmas approaching, it's all bitter sweet. There's so much to be thankful for and so many blessings being poured upon us. But Emily is a part of our family now and for her to be so far away is hard. We have her stocking hung and presents waiting for her arrival. We know The Lord will protect her this season, just as he always has. But there's a hole in our hearts, even as we celebrate the most joyous holiday. We know this hole will be filled soon enough. And for that, we are grateful.
We are currently on day 25 of our LOA wait. I'll briefly recap what this means. 25 days ago we received a PA (pre-approval) from China to adopt Emily. We are now waiting for our LOA (letter of approval) which makes the adoption very official. The LOA wait typically takes anywhere from 2-6 months. We did receive some fabulous news on Wednesday that our dossier (our 1 million page packet telling them who we are) is OOT (out of translation). This is really good news because it's the step within the LOA wait that takes the longest. Once your dossier is OOT, you can expect LOA in about another month. Let me reiterate what I've said in the past... the Lomans will be doing a spastic happy dance when LOA arrives. I'll brief you on future steps as we get there. For now, please pray that our LOA comes quickly. If it does, it's possible we could travel in March, rather than our anticipated April or May timeline! While we wait... more paperwork.
I've begun nesting, as I did with all my pregnancies. Emily's room is coming together and I've even created a baby registry at Target! A precious girlfriend has offered to have a baby shower for me with close friends, in February. It's feeling so real! Also, I've met a missionary who will be traveling back to China in January and she has offered to bring a package back to be delivered for Emily! What a blessing! I plan to include an LSU outfit (can you imagine the cuteness?), a monogrammed dress, medicine, a recordable book, a photo album, and maybe a soft lovie. I may pack myself in the box so I can get my hands on our baby girl!
We did hear some really sad news yesterday. There is a little girl at Harmony House (with Emily), who has been matched with a family and they are fighting their way through the system to get to their daughter, just like we are. The little girl's originating orphanage has requested that Harmony House send her back and they have haulted the adoption indefinitely. How can this happen? Remember, this is a communist country where the state controls everything... EVERYTHING (we can't even send Emily's caretakers money without it going through the government). We don't know why this happens but apparently it's not uncommon. My guess would be that it involves money, as most things do. While you're praying for a quick LOA, can you also pray for this family, the baby girl, and that this scenario does not play out in our adoption? The thought alone makes me sick to my stomach. I just can't imagine the pain this family is experiencing.
Things are progressing nicely. It's exciting to see movement in the process. With Christmas approaching, it's all bitter sweet. There's so much to be thankful for and so many blessings being poured upon us. But Emily is a part of our family now and for her to be so far away is hard. We have her stocking hung and presents waiting for her arrival. We know The Lord will protect her this season, just as he always has. But there's a hole in our hearts, even as we celebrate the most joyous holiday. We know this hole will be filled soon enough. And for that, we are grateful.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Winter Minis for Emily Hope
Another blessed Saturday... Thank you AK Photography for offering to spend yesterday taking portraits to help bring Emily home! Because of Anna Kathryn, her amazing helper Tatiana, and 10 special families, $1,000 was raised yesterday for our adoption expenses! Can you believe our fundraising thermometer has almost reached $30,000?! Unbelievable. I can't wait to see all the beautiful pictures from yesterday!
Thanks again to everyone who has stepped up to help bring home our Mei Mei. We thought the finances would be one of our biggest obstacles in this adoption but because of so many loving hearts, and a God who constantly provides, we are almost fully funded! Makes me want to do it again! I know, I know, let's get Emily home first (that's what my logical hubby tells me anyway). ;-) I pray that we can return the generosity to some of you who may decide to adopt one day. We would be honored to walk with you every step of the way!
This was the last of our fundraising efforts. Since we only have a couple thousand to raise, this will come out of our future savings. We feel confident we'll be able to set this aside in time. Oh wait! We do still have several t-shirts left. We'd love to get these off our hands if you're interested in buying one for $20. Feel free to email me for size availability and other questions (lauraloman@yahoo.com) or click on the t-shirt link on my blog home page (view web version from smart phones).
Blessings to each of you this Thanksgiving! So much to be thankful for...
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
An Amazing Fundraising Event... Fun, Fellowship, and Fire!
Our Orphan Awareness Fundraiser on Saturday was a big success and we have so much to share about this wonderful day!
First of all, thank you to everyone who came out to support us and our mission to bring home Emily Hope. We were overwhelmed by your presence, hugs, words of encouragement, and donations for our cause. Because of your support, we raised $8,018 at this event! Seamus and I prayerfully decided to share $1,000 with (un)adopted. We felt a 10% tithe (plus a little extra) would be appropriate and we hope you agree. Take a look at our fundraising thermometer! (you have to view web version if you're on a smart phone) We are less than $5,000 away from being fully funded to bring home Emily Hope!
Thank you to Garth Thorpe, with (un)adopted, who shared in this great day with us. Your presentation was inspiring and we are thankful for your ministry in Christ's name.
Thank you to Joe Bergeron and some fabulous guys from St. Timothy UMC for sharing your music talent and so much of your time and energy. You guys rocked the square!
Mrs. Barbara from Bebe's Kitchen, the jambalaya was second to none! So many complimented the delicious food.
Evan McGinty, the balloon animals were a total hit with the kiddos! I'm pretty sure you had the longest line all evening. :-) Thank you for the fun!
There are hundreds of people to thank personally. I promise not to do that here. ;-) But if I could just give one more shout out to those of you who... donated, served, cooked, sang, worked, organized, ran errands, cleaned, stocked, sorted, popped, presented, and just showed up... THANK YOU! We are eternally grateful. Please know that each of you played an important role in bringing our baby girl home and even in changing hearts to bring other orphans home.
Speaking of changing hearts... Seamus and I were hopeful to raise a good bit of money at this event for our adoption expenses but this was not our primary goal for the event. We wanted God to be present, for Him to send His Spirit to open eyes to the orphan crisis and soften hearts for the ministry of adoption. This is what we prayed for. And this is what He provided!
After our presentation and lantern release, someone approached me and Seamus to share that he was thankful to be included in our day. Thankful to be included? (clear throat) Thank YOU! Then he proceeded to tell us that He was changed this night. He said when our lantern was released in honor of Emily Hope, "the deal was sealed". God had not only softened his heart to adoption but convicted him so deeply for this ministry that he'd decided he and his wife would adopt a son. Let me share that they do not have biological children yet, nor have they tried. Y'all. There is a generation of younger people so in love with the Lord that they are willing to participate in adoption before their desire to have children of their own. Mind blowing. I told this sweet man that our prayers had been answered. It was clear that God showed up on Saturday and impacted lives. We are forever changed by his testimony after our event. It is an amazing privilege to watch God work mightily in hearts.
So, about the lantern release... Ha! I'm laughing already. While planning the event, we thought it would be a beautiful ending to our presentation to have 50 Chinese lanterns released. Think "Tangled". In came 50 lanterns and they ended up being way bigger and way more difficult to light then we expected. Change of plans. Let's release 10 lanterns. Event nears. Lantern anxiety sets in. Change of plans. 5 will be pretty, right? Brady ends our event with his beautiful prayer and Seamus and Laura release a lantern in honor of Emily Hope. I must admit, it really was magnificent. Lantern #2 approaches, hole in lantern, not gonna' work. Seamus calmly walks to the sidewalk and begins stomping the lantern out. Ugh! All in honor of Emily Hope we are stomping lanterns out? Ha! Shoe catches fire. No really. Shoe catches fire. God graciously puts the fire out and we immediately signal to our volunteers not to light anymore. Phew! The whole lantern fiasco makes me laugh now but it seems uncanny that only one actually took flight. Emily Hope is one. She is one less. One less orphan in the world. I will remember that one beautiful lantern in the sky and it will always signify how Emily is ONE less.
There were a few people who stopped by to introduce themselves to us, as they too are in the international adoption process or have adopted. It was heart warming to meet them and hear their stories. It was even more heart-warming to meet the adopted children.
Seamus met a sweet lady in a Baton Rouge restaurant a few months ago after seeing her baby girl (clearly from China), and introducing himself. Turns out she and her husband also went through Lifeline to adopt a special needs baby from China! I was so excited to see them out there Saturday. I'm pretty sure I almost squeezed their little girl's cheeks off. Sorry, Vivienne! One of our best friends' little boy saw Vivienne and began screaming, "Daddy!! Emily's here!!" How totally stinking cute is that?
Before I close, I just want to reiterate something we shared at the event. If you are reading this and adoption has been on your heart in one form or another, Seamus or I would love to sit down to chat and pray with you about this. We want to encourage you and walk with you on your journey. We can answer questions and share some of our own fears and doubts. If adoption is not on your heart but you realize God's call for ALL of us to care for orphans, we would love to share other ways you can be the caring hands and feet these children need. You can message us through our Loman Adoption FB page or email me at lauraloman@yahoo.com.
Thanks again for all your support this past weekend (and beyond)! There really are no words to sufficiently express our gratitude. Just thank you.
Our fabulous photographer for the event was our sweet friend Anna Kathryn of AK Photography. She is truly amazing in so many ways. Check out these pics she took on Saturday!
First of all, thank you to everyone who came out to support us and our mission to bring home Emily Hope. We were overwhelmed by your presence, hugs, words of encouragement, and donations for our cause. Because of your support, we raised $8,018 at this event! Seamus and I prayerfully decided to share $1,000 with (un)adopted. We felt a 10% tithe (plus a little extra) would be appropriate and we hope you agree. Take a look at our fundraising thermometer! (you have to view web version if you're on a smart phone) We are less than $5,000 away from being fully funded to bring home Emily Hope!
Thank you to Garth Thorpe, with (un)adopted, who shared in this great day with us. Your presentation was inspiring and we are thankful for your ministry in Christ's name.
Thank you to Joe Bergeron and some fabulous guys from St. Timothy UMC for sharing your music talent and so much of your time and energy. You guys rocked the square!
Mrs. Barbara from Bebe's Kitchen, the jambalaya was second to none! So many complimented the delicious food.
Evan McGinty, the balloon animals were a total hit with the kiddos! I'm pretty sure you had the longest line all evening. :-) Thank you for the fun!
There are hundreds of people to thank personally. I promise not to do that here. ;-) But if I could just give one more shout out to those of you who... donated, served, cooked, sang, worked, organized, ran errands, cleaned, stocked, sorted, popped, presented, and just showed up... THANK YOU! We are eternally grateful. Please know that each of you played an important role in bringing our baby girl home and even in changing hearts to bring other orphans home.
Speaking of changing hearts... Seamus and I were hopeful to raise a good bit of money at this event for our adoption expenses but this was not our primary goal for the event. We wanted God to be present, for Him to send His Spirit to open eyes to the orphan crisis and soften hearts for the ministry of adoption. This is what we prayed for. And this is what He provided!
After our presentation and lantern release, someone approached me and Seamus to share that he was thankful to be included in our day. Thankful to be included? (clear throat) Thank YOU! Then he proceeded to tell us that He was changed this night. He said when our lantern was released in honor of Emily Hope, "the deal was sealed". God had not only softened his heart to adoption but convicted him so deeply for this ministry that he'd decided he and his wife would adopt a son. Let me share that they do not have biological children yet, nor have they tried. Y'all. There is a generation of younger people so in love with the Lord that they are willing to participate in adoption before their desire to have children of their own. Mind blowing. I told this sweet man that our prayers had been answered. It was clear that God showed up on Saturday and impacted lives. We are forever changed by his testimony after our event. It is an amazing privilege to watch God work mightily in hearts.
So, about the lantern release... Ha! I'm laughing already. While planning the event, we thought it would be a beautiful ending to our presentation to have 50 Chinese lanterns released. Think "Tangled". In came 50 lanterns and they ended up being way bigger and way more difficult to light then we expected. Change of plans. Let's release 10 lanterns. Event nears. Lantern anxiety sets in. Change of plans. 5 will be pretty, right? Brady ends our event with his beautiful prayer and Seamus and Laura release a lantern in honor of Emily Hope. I must admit, it really was magnificent. Lantern #2 approaches, hole in lantern, not gonna' work. Seamus calmly walks to the sidewalk and begins stomping the lantern out. Ugh! All in honor of Emily Hope we are stomping lanterns out? Ha! Shoe catches fire. No really. Shoe catches fire. God graciously puts the fire out and we immediately signal to our volunteers not to light anymore. Phew! The whole lantern fiasco makes me laugh now but it seems uncanny that only one actually took flight. Emily Hope is one. She is one less. One less orphan in the world. I will remember that one beautiful lantern in the sky and it will always signify how Emily is ONE less.
There were a few people who stopped by to introduce themselves to us, as they too are in the international adoption process or have adopted. It was heart warming to meet them and hear their stories. It was even more heart-warming to meet the adopted children.
Seamus met a sweet lady in a Baton Rouge restaurant a few months ago after seeing her baby girl (clearly from China), and introducing himself. Turns out she and her husband also went through Lifeline to adopt a special needs baby from China! I was so excited to see them out there Saturday. I'm pretty sure I almost squeezed their little girl's cheeks off. Sorry, Vivienne! One of our best friends' little boy saw Vivienne and began screaming, "Daddy!! Emily's here!!" How totally stinking cute is that?
Before I close, I just want to reiterate something we shared at the event. If you are reading this and adoption has been on your heart in one form or another, Seamus or I would love to sit down to chat and pray with you about this. We want to encourage you and walk with you on your journey. We can answer questions and share some of our own fears and doubts. If adoption is not on your heart but you realize God's call for ALL of us to care for orphans, we would love to share other ways you can be the caring hands and feet these children need. You can message us through our Loman Adoption FB page or email me at lauraloman@yahoo.com.
Thanks again for all your support this past weekend (and beyond)! There really are no words to sufficiently express our gratitude. Just thank you.
Our fabulous photographer for the event was our sweet friend Anna Kathryn of AK Photography. She is truly amazing in so many ways. Check out these pics she took on Saturday!
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